


Loving Death

by reveetoile



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Not Really Character Death, Personification of Death, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-31 09:07:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13971810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reveetoile/pseuds/reveetoile
Summary: Ohno dies and is asked to work as an Shinigami. He agrees and leads a lonely second life until he meets Jun and Nino.





	Loving Death

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second story I wrote for the Ohno-Exchange. I hope you'll have fun reading it.   
> Dear berrybuttboy, I hope you’ll like this story. It’s probably not exactly what you had wished for but that came to my mind when I read your prompts. So I tried my best.   
> I imagined Ohno as the Shinigami from Shinigami-kun which he played. So there are also demons and different shinigami but no person that accompanies them.  
> A big thank you for my betareader who helped me a lot and is always ready to proofread my exchange stories :D

Falling in love with Death was impossible, Ohno had been told when he had just started. He had nodded obediently even if the thought had made him sad. But Ohno knew that he wouldn't be alone. That at least was a small mercy. What was worse was that they had explained that people wouldn’t be happy when they saw him because he signified their life was coming to an end. Ohno hadn’t liked that, but he had accepted this fact as well.

As soon as he had actually begun his work as a shinigami, though, he had realised that there _were_ people who were happy to see them.

“I'm ready, thank you for not leaving me alone", some of the elderly would say as he took their hand to lead them to the next realm.

“Thank you for telling me. I will say my goodbyes,” some people would tell him when he came to them three days before an accident.

“Finally the pain will end”, some people in hospital would whisper when he appeared in front of them.

“Will it hurt?” little children would ask when they saw him with those wide, scared eyes. His heart would break as he embraced them, promised that he would stay with them and that there was nothing they had to fear. He would protect them. That was his job.

Ohno cried for them all. He remembered their faces and their stories and held them, dear. The other shinigami would shake their heads at his strange behaviour, but Ohno didn't care. He had an important job as a shinigami, and he never wanted to become as callous as them.

\--

Ohno strolled through the park, idly looking around. Today he had some free time. When Ohno had started as a shinigami, he had thought that he would have something to work all the time. People died all the time after all. 

He had been surprised to see that there were more than just a handful of shinigami. It was just like working in a company. They each had their shifts, and they had time off as well. It was strange, but Ohno was glad that he had ‘weekends’ and vacations which he could use to calm down his thoughts - and his heart.

He sat down at the riverside and thought back to the beginning of this new life. 

\--

_‘So this is how it feels to be dead’, Ohno mused as he looked down at his own body. He felt light, and there was no pain left in his body. It made a nice change. Ohno was a bit worried about the people he left back on Earth, but he had died in battle. He had died protecting their small village, and he had succeeded. So he was sure that his loved ones would be safe for a while at least._

_He felt strangely peaceful. He thought he was ready to leave for better shores - but at the same time, there was something holding him back. He didn’t understand what it was though._

_“I want to give you a choice,” Ohno heard a warm voice, and he looked around searchingly. ‘A choice? What kind of choice?’ he wanted to ask but realised he didn’t know how his mouth worked here just yet._

_“I can see that you have a beautiful mind - perfect to help others reach the other realm. Of course, you can also decide to go there yourself. Would you help me?” it asked._

_Ohno thought, humming deep in his throat. His voice sounded wrong in his ears._

_Leading others to the other realm? Ohno didn’t know what that meant. It sounded like an important task. Ohno remembered the scared faces of the people who died in battle or out of hunger and illnesses and thought it would be nice to calm them down and make sure they were safe._

_“Okay,” he agreed in that same strange sounding voice. The next time he blinked he was in a grand hall filled with candles of different heights. He was looking around curiously when a tall man stepped into the room._

_“Thank you for choosing to help us. I appreciate it. There aren’t many people who decide on that kind of afterlife. They chose to go to the other side. Which is okay, of course,” he said, and Ohno cocked his head to the side._

_“What is on the other side?” he couldn’t help but ask._

_“I’m not allowed to tell. By the way, I’m Shunin, and I will be your supervisor as a shinigami,” the man explained._

_“Supervisor?” Ohno asked with a frown._

_Shunin nodded, going to open a door Ohno hadn’t seen before (Ohne suspected it hadn’t been there.) He motioned Ohno to follow him and to sit on the seat in front of the desk inside the other room._

_“Yes, supervisor. You aren’t the only shinigami working for me. Of course, I have to make sure that you won’t get into each others space or forget somebody. Before you start, though, you will have a few weeks of training. They’ll tell you what to do the.”_

_Ohno nodded, still a bit dumbfounded, and stood when Shunin indicated that he was allowed to go. He left the room and found another worker waiting for him, ready to introduce him to his new ‘life’._

\--

That was how he’d gotten to be... this. Ohno liked being a shinigami. He liked helping others - always had - but it made him lonely, even now as he sat at a crowded riverside park. There were many people running around, playing with each other or with their children; a few were even taking a swim. And nobody saw him. The people who got close to him automatically walked around him. It didn’t feel good to be ignored in such a way. At least when he took people to the other side, they saw him.

“I told you it was a bad idea,” he heard a frustrated voice nearby and looked up. He blinked, surprised, as he saw two men arguing just a few feet from him. No one was paying attention to them, but they were loud. 

“I know, and it was not my doing, J! So shut up. You agreed to try that spell.”

“You mean, you convinced me,” the one called ‘J’ snarked. 

The other smirked. Ohne guessed J had gotten that right. “You were not complaining,” he shrugged, then looked around with a frown. “This world looks more different from ours than I thought. But well…” A sigh - and then the clothes of the two men transformed. 

Ohno stared in surprise as they somehow changed their long robes they were wearing (purple and yellow which look very nice on them) to more normal clothes the people around them also wear. The two of them settled down not too far from him, but sadly they had quietened down too much for him to continue listening in. 

Ohno shook his head at himself. It wasn’t nice to listen in. And it wasn’t smart to get interested in people. He only stayed a bit longer before he vanished back to the world he belonged to to prepare for the next day full of work.

\--

“He’s gone,” Nino mumbled.

Jun smiled softly at the words and pressed a small kiss to the side of his lips. “Who is?” he asked teasingly. 

Nino looked at him, rolling his eyes and pinching Jun’s side. He thought about retorting but decided to change the topic completely. “We should think about where to live and what to do.” 

He stood up and offered Jun a hand, which was taken with a groan.   
Jun knew Nino was right. They needed a place to live and something to earn money. Jun didn’t know how they had managed to end up here, but they had to make do with what they had now. Jun watched as Nino murmured a spell to find a good place for them. Jun only hoped it would be better here than where they had been before. 

In their world, it was forbidden for magic users to fall in love. Men falling in love was frowned upon, anyway and for two wizards to fall in love - well. 

They were found out. Nino had never been a careful person, so it was not surprising to Jun. What had been surprising was Nino’s reaction when they were found out. Jun had always lived with the thought of facing the death penalty but not Nino. Nino instead had looked for a way out, years before they got together even. Jun was sure Nino had begun to look for a solution when he realised that he was a wizard and interested in boys. 

Instead of dying, Nino had convinced Jun to try this spell. The one they used to get to a world where they would be safe and accepted because what did they have to lose anyway? Jun couldn’t find a reason to argue, and that was how they found themselves here. They were getting a new start.

Finally, after they had wandered around the little streets close to the park. They found a spot in a small dark street. It was calm, a bit hidden and with a bit of magical work, they managed to build a small cottage where they would be able to live comfortably.

“Few enough people pass by that we can convince them that it had always been here,” Jun observed when they were inside. 

Nino hummed in agreement and let himself fall into a big bean bag. Jun followed him, and they snuggled up close to each other. Nino closed his eyes, breathing in Jun’s scent. He knew he had been foolish in more or less forcing Jun to come with him and abandon everything, but he didn’t mind. His thoughts went back to the man he saw earlier, and he felt Jun’s amusement through their shared link.

“He looked lonely.”

“Falling for Death is foolish,” Jun mumbled, sending Nino into a fit of laughter. 

“I didn’t say I’ll fall for him.” 

Jun grinned at those words. That much was true, but he knew Nino. 

“But you know, that only wizards can meet and talk to Death while alive,” Nino justified his interest. 

Jun knew that. He also knew that Nino sometimes lied to himself. 

“It should be interesting,” Jun decided as they settled down.

\--

Ohno saw those two men more often. Sometimes only the smaller one, then that ‘J’ and sometimes even both of them together. It was strange. He had never met anybody as often as he had met them. If you even could call it a’ meeting’: They never talked. They never even acknowledged each other. 

(How could that happen, anyway? Ohno needed to remind himself often that they couldn’t see him. He was invisible to humans.)

Ohno was used to that at least. It hurt more now that it was always the same people he got interested in but it couldn’t be helped. 

Or so he thought. 

After a few weeks of running into them, he realised that they seemed to look directly at him. He wasn’t used to that. Ohno tried to tell himself that he just imagined things. They were probably looking right through him, smiling at the people behind him or something like that. 

Nobody could see him. And he really shouldn’t think about it. He had things to do after all. Ohno feared that he was about to neglect his job because he was always thinking about them.

\--

Some days, Ohno hated his job. Dealing with people close to death was hard sometimes. Old people were easy. They had lived a long life already and were mostly content. Young people were a lot more difficult. 

Some were easier than others. They had battled long illnesses and welcomed the peaceful afterlife. Others had led shitty lives, done the wrong things and died because of their mistakes. It wasn’t nice to tell them they would die and then later take them, but it was manageable. 

Then there were the scared people. People who died because of mistakes others did, who left beloved ones behind. That was hard. He always hated that. He could only hope that his warning helped them in some ways.

Finally, there were the children. The children who didn’t understand, the parents who couldn’t understand. Who hated him and everybody. He only could take care of them as best as he could and try to lead them safely to the next life. Ohno always made sure that they wouldn’t end up taken by demons.

 

This week had been rough. He was lucky to accompany people who were fairly easy to deal with usually mostly. But this week, there had an influx of scared and angry people, and he hated it. He wanted it all to end. 

So he was looking forward to his rest day. Ohno knew he needed time to feel calm once more. On days like those last ones, he was this close to quitting.

Ohno found himself back on the riverside and sat down on almost the same spot as so many weeks ago. He watched the children play in the river and felt a renewed peace settle over him. He just had to look at the humans to remember why he did what he did. He wanted to help them through the last hours of their life. 

“You look sad,” he heard a voice and looked up, confused. The smaller man of the two haunting him settled down beside him, causing Ohno to look around in shock. Had he missed someone being next to him?

An amused smile was on the small lips of the other. He was looking right at Ohno.

“I’m talking to you. Don’t look so shocked,” he giggled and took Ohno’s hand to squeeze it. 

Ohno was shocked and surprised and didn’t know how to react. It has been years since anybody had touched him first. 

“What?” he found himself saying as the smile of the other didn’t cease. 

“I’m Ninomiya Kazunari, by the way. Most people call me Nino, but you can use whatever you feel comfortable with,” the man - Nino - said calmly.

“Ohno Satoshi,” Ohno answered automatically and then blinked. “Wait. Why can you see me? What is wrong?”

Nino shrugged and let go of Ohno’s hand to lean back on his elbows to look at the sparkling water. 

“Nothing is wrong. Jun and I are not from this world. And where we came from, there’s only one death. Our kind can see him, talk to him. Not that that happened often. Death is a lonely creature most of the time,” Nino mused.

“Your kind?”

“Users of magic,” Nino explained and moved his fingers in a circle creating some sparks on the tips of his fingers.

“I don't really understand.” Magic didn't exist as far as Ohno knew. He had never seen any magic before them at least - but he also had never seen shinigami before he died. So he couldn't be too sure about that.

“I don't think you have to,” Nino said with an elegant shrug of his shoulders.

They sat beside each other in silence for a while before Nino chuckled softly. “Damn it, J was right,” he mumbled and shook his head when Ohno looked at him questioningly. “Come with me? We can talk at mine; Jun makes great pasta.”

“I don’t need to eat,” Ohno replied, but Nino rolled his eyes. 

“I didn’t ask you if you needed something to eat. I told you, Jun makes the best pasta you ever tasted. And you can eat. I saw you trying some sweets a few days ago. And don’t worry. I won’t kill you or something.” 

Ohno watched him a moment before sighing deeply, following Nino when he stood up. “Okay.”

\--

“Jun, I’m back,” Nino yelled as he opened the door and let it fall shut behind them. Ohno took off his shoes, following Nino nervously. 

“You are late,” Jun murmured and kissed Nino’s cheek when they entered the living room. Ohno shuffled around, a little bit uncomfortable. 

“I brought Oh-chan,” Nino explained when Jun’s eyes fell on him, and Ohno tried hard not to blush. It had been a long time since people really looked at him. Even the dead ones didn’t really care about him, just about what he signified.

And of course, he wore his work clothes then: a dark suit with a fly and a small round hat. He was always dressed nicely. Not right now, though. He was just wearing comfortable clothes.

Jun looked him over shortly, but then a smile appeared on his face, making him look a lot younger and softer around the edges. “Nice to meet you. I’m Matsumoto Jun. Nino here is bad at introducing people, so forgive him.”

“Nice to meet you, too. I’m Ohno Satoshi,” Ohno answered with a small smile he couldn’t really hide. Both Jun and Nino seemed to be nice people - even if a bit strange and quirky. 

Jun quickly set the table for one more person, and they sat down to eat. Ohno had to admit that the pasta was one of the best he had ever tasted. The good meal and wine that he seldom indulged in made it easier to talk to the other two. It was great talking to them, Ohno realised. They were funny and quick-witted, and Ohno liked watching their antics. They looked good together. 

He didn’t realise it had gotten late until Jun got up with a sigh. “You probably should head home,” he mumbled.   
Ohno blinked. He looked outside, confused, but it was dark. Oh. “You are right. It’s getting rather late.”

“Oh well, I hope we will see you again soon,” Nino said with a pout and Ohno laughed. He didn’t know how long it had been since he had last felt like that. 

“I don’t think you would leave me alone,” he joked but was nonplussed when Nino got serious at once. 

“We would. If you ask us to, if you really want it,” he said earnestly. 

Ohno smiled and shook his head. “No, it’s good to talk to you. It’s nice, you are nice.” 

Nino grinned at those words and Ohno saw a smirk on Jun’s face as well. Nino came over to put his arms around his shoulder. A kiss fell on his cheek, with Jun putting an arm around his shoulders when Nino let him go. Ohno felt his cheeks heat up as he was led to the door. 

“Yes, it would be nice if you came over more often,” Jun agreed and let him go with a soft smile on his face. The kind of smile Ohno was sure he hadn’t earned. 

\--

Ohno saw the two of them even more often after that night if that was even possible. Now, if Ohno weren’t actually working but only watching over his charges from afar, they would come over to talk to him. They also always asked him to come over for dinner. Sometimes Ohno was able to say yes, and it was nice to forget all about gruelling deaths for a while. 

Today was his free day - or more exactly the night before his free day - and Jun had been able to convince him to come over as soon as he could. They had a nice dinner, curry, one of Ohno’s favourites, and were now sitting in the living room. Jun and Ohno shared the sofa while Nino was lounging by their feet and playing a video game. 

“I should leave,” Ohno mumbled when he realised how late it had gotten. He stood up just to be pulled back again by Jun. 

He almost fell onto the younger and bit back a shocked shriek. Nino looked up for a small moment, before concentrating on his game again. That was also new. Jun and Nino were touching him a lot. Talking him into staying for as long as he could. Ohno supposed it was good that he needed little to no sleep to function or he would be in big trouble. It was hard for him to decline. Ohno enjoyed the time here. 

“Stay,” Jun whispered into his ears and laid an arm casually over his shoulders. “It’s still early. And you said tomorrow was your free day and you wanted to come over anyway. So you could just stay overnight,” he explained. 

Ohno frowned at first, but soon... it sounded logical. 

“But I don’t want to disturb you,” he argued weakly which caused Nino to laugh brightly. 

“No worries. We are asking you to stay, so there is no way you are unwelcome.”

“If you say so,” Ohno mumbled, not really convinced but his heart was jumping happily at those words. He was happy they liked having him here in their midst. 

He was also very proud that Jun allowed him to be almost as close to him as Nino normally was. Jun, Ohno had observed, was reserved. Nino easily chatted with others, but Jun often kept to himself. With Ohno, he was more open. He smiled often, touched Ohno and let himself be touched by the shinigami. Ohno liked that fact very much. 

Nino was leaning against Ohno, touching him freely and dropping a kiss on his cheek whenever Ohno left them had even become normal. It was still strange for Ohno to be welcomed that much but it was a nice strange and Ohno wanted more of it, to never lose it. 

From time to time he was scared that they would vanish the same way they had appeared in his life, but it seemed like they had decided to stay for a while at least. He hoped it would be a long while.

Nino finished his game a short while later while Jun brought them all new beers. As soon as the game was shut down, Jun snatched the controller to choose a channel where the latest episode of his favourite drama was shown. Ohno grinned a bit as he already knew that Jun loved watching different dramas. He normally recorded the episodes so that he wouldn’t miss any. But he liked to catch them on air as well. 

Nino took his beer and then sidled up beside them on the sofa. Ohno made a surprised noise since the sofa was a bit small for them and he was right in the middle, but somehow they fit. 

Slowly Ohno got hooked by the drama and followed the storyline with interest. He didn’t realise that Nino was getting closer and closer until Ohno was almost cuddled between the both of them. 

“Oh,” Ohno mumbled as his hand touched Jun’s knee and he looked up from the TV to exchange glances with Jun and Nino. Nino had an amused twinkle in his eyes and put a hand on Ohno’s knee when he caught his look. He didn’t even try to pretend that he was watching the drama. 

Ohno felt a shudder running over his back at the touch. He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to understand what this meant. He felt warm and giddy. Ohno had to hold himself back not to touch Nino himself. He looked at the small hand on his knee. It was warm where it laid, and the warmth was spreading through Ohno. It was sometimes overwhelming how he felt whenever Nino or Jun touched him. 

Ohno didn’t know exactly if Jun was watching the tv. He hadn’t overtly reacted to the touching, but he had moved enough so that he could put an arm half across his shoulders, sometimes playing with Ohno’s hair and then changing to Nino’s soft locks and back again. 

They stayed like that until the drama ended and the screen went black as Jun switched the tv off. Then he turned to them, and his long soft fingers landed on Ohno’s cheek, caressing. Ohno couldn’t help but smile a little at the touch. The butterflies in his belly intensified, and he leant a little bit more against Jun. Ohno felt Nino sidling up to a little bit closer as well, and neither of them was letting Ohno go.

Ohno thought about staying silent and just enjoying the attention he got from them, but he couldn’t help himself - he was growing more and more confused and a little bit insecure.

“What are you doing?” Ohno finally asked into the silence. 

“Trying to seduce you,” Nino answered, sending Ohno choking and coughing in surprise. 

Jun glared at Nino, a bit frustrated, and rubbed Ohno’s back to help him regain his breath. “I don’t know if you can, but please don’t die on us,” he begged Ohno, hitting Nino on the head when he doubled over laughing at his choice of words. At least it got him a small smile from Ohno who calmed down again. 

“I don’t understand. Are you joking?” he asked a bit unsure. He didn’t get what they were all about. Ohno sometimes thought they were honestly interested in him. But he was confused. After all, he had learnt that nobody would love Death. That was impossible. 

Ohno looked from one to the other. Jun was looking serious and solemn, and all the mirth was gone from Nino’s face. The sudden change in their stance was what finally convinced Ohno that they were taking him seriously. That helped him a lot with figuring out what to say or to even think.

“Oh-chan, I think we have to be very clear with you,” Nino sighed. “I had already realised that you are sometimes a little bit slow, but that much?”

“Hey! I’m not dumb!” Ohno argued with a pout. Jun put a hand over Nino’s mouth before he could say anything more.

Ohno turned around to look at him hopefully for a nicer explanation. He could hear Nino’s annoyed huff, but luckily he didn’t say anything even when Jun removed his hand. 

“No, you are not. And we didn’t want to imply that. But you are not really used to relationships or something like that between people, it seems,” Jun began explaining with a calming smile, cupping Ohno’s cheek tenderly again. Ohno closed his eyes and felt peace running over him. He liked being touched like that by them. 

“What we were trying to show you from the beginning is this: We like you a lot. We really do, and we love spending time with you and having you here.” Jun sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, seemingly trying to come up with more. “But we are worried.” 

Nino snorted a little which caused Jun to roll his eyes and looking at the other in a clear warning. Ohno turned around to look at Nino, too, but Jun threatened: “I swear, I will bind you and put a muting spell on you if you don’t let me talk uninterrupted.”

Nino huffed and crossed his arms in front of his chest but nodded silently in agreement. 

“Good. Ignore Nino for a moment, please,” Jun asked him, turning Ohno’s head again to be able to look into his eyes. “We are worried you don’t feel the same way. Nino is of the opinion that you like us just as much because you let us touch you freely and seem to enjoy our time together. But you are also a bit distant - and you never talk.”

“Huh?” Ohno asked confused. “You like me?” he asked, still not quite following, never mind believing. 

Jun groaned while Nino couldn’t stop a small giggle bubbling up.

Nino embraced him tightly hiding his face in the neck of the other man. “Yes, we like you. We like you very much,” he repeated.

Ohno felt a shudder coming up as he felt the warm breath fanning across his neck and the lips moving against his skin.

“But we won’t go further right now, and we’ll stop if you won’t tell us what you want. We don’t want to make you any more uncomfortable than we already did. We just thought a little push would help you. Maybe. We know that it is hard to understand your feelings after so many years ignoring them and being alone. But now we are afraid to have gone too far without you just going along because you couldn’t help yourself,” Nino explained and moved away to look into his eyes again. “Sorry if we went too far, already.” 

Nino was looking scared and uncomfortable, suddenly, and Ohno really wanted to tell him it was okay. There was nothing to fear really. He felt good about them. He would have told them if it was otherwise.

“Nino is often a bit boisterous when it comes to showing his affections,” Jun said with a loving smile that made Nino blush quite badly. Ohno wished he knew more about them and how they had gotten to know each other. It had to be an adorable story, but perhaps he would know more in the future if Jun and Nino consented to tell him. 

“Oh-chan?” Nino brought him back to the present, and Jun chuckled a little at his lost look. 

“Do you like us?” Jun asked again. 

“Ah!” Ohno shouted, blushing when he realised that both were looking at him anxiously because he had forgotten to talk. Just as they said. Ohno hadn’t realised how little he actually spoke about his feelings and thoughts and how much Jun and Nino needed him to tell them. 

Nino’s face was blank, but his eyes were scared. It was as if Nino was trying hard to mask his anxiousness, but it was easy for Ohno to read in his eyes. He lifted his hand to put it on Nino’s shoulder, meaning it to be calming, but held himself back and let it uselessly fall between them again. He needed to speak. Just reacting to them wouldn’t solve anything right now. His heart hurt a bit as he thought about worrying them. 

Jun, on the other hand, was biting his lips nervously. He wasn’t really hiding is nervousness. Jun always seemed to try to be as open with him as he could. He wasn’t the type to hide as Nino did. 

This time Ohno didn’t hold back when he took Jun’s hand to squeeze it softly. Jun looked a bit confused and wanted to open his mouth again to say something. But Ohno shook his head. He didn’t want them to ask again right now. Carefully he moved back to be able to look into their faces seriously and openly. 

“I like you!” he exclaimed and grinned when Nino giggled relieved. Jun grinned happily as well and to Ohno’s surprise moved down to put a kiss on his forehead.

“Good. So will you stay? The night and tomorrow?” Jun asked. Ohno agreed easily. He felt comfortable here. More than he had anywhere else for a long time now. Ohno sometimes forgot how long he already had been a shinigami. It had to be centuries.

Ohno had never allowed himself to feel completely at home here until now. He had always been too worried that’s he’d come in between both lovers and would outstay his welcome.

Now, though, he felt that worry leave. His body sagged a little into the hold of Nino, who was chuckling giddily into his neck having gone back to hugging him tightly. 

“You can’t believe how happy I am right now,” Nino said brightly, making Ohno laugh. 

Ohno thought he might risk a very good guess on that subject if the happiness Nino was radiating right now was anything to go on. 

“I will be very happy to be able to stay with you today and tomorrow,” he said. 

In his mind, he added ‘and every day after’.


End file.
